Music at Midday

Fridays, 12:15-1 pm
National City Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
5 Thomas Circle NW
A new five-month season of weekly Music at Midday concerts at National City Christian Church begins Feb. 4. While most performances will feature the church’s magnificent pipe organs, others will include piano and flute. This season's musicians hail from 10 U.S. states and three European countries. Social distancing and masks required. Free admission; donations accepted
Detailed information at www.nationalcitycc.org or contact Rev. Dr. J. Michael McMahon at mmcmahon@nationalcitycc.org 

Feb. 4: New York City organist John A. Woife will perform works of Nicolas de Grigny, Dietrich Buxtehude, William Albright and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Feb. 11: Organist Grant Wareham (Hershey, PA) will perform the East Coast premiere of Karim Al-Zand’s Toccata for Organ, along with works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Max Reger.

Feb. 18: French organist Laurent Jochum is traveling from Paris to perform a program of works by J. S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn and M.L. Takle. 

Feb. 25: New York City organist Aaron Comins will perform works of John Williams, Marco Enrico Bossi, Richard Wagner, J. S. Bach, Franz Liszt and Charles-Marie Widor. 

Organ Events 

Saturday, Jan. 22 and Sunday, Jan. 23, both at 7:30 pm: Scott Dettra performs the complete organ works of Cesar Frank at St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill, 313 Second St. SE.

Sunday, Jan. 30, 7 pm:  Nathan Laube will inaugurate the new Harrison & Harrison organ at Christ Church Episcopal, 118 N. Washington St., Alexandria. The recital will include the premiere of a newly commissioned organ work by William Bradley Roberts (retired professor of church music at Virginia Theological Seminary). A reception will follow the recital. This a free event and no tickets are needed, but masks must be worn inside the church. For more information, email jabel@ccalex.org.

Friday, Feb. 4, 7:30 pm: Memorial Concert for Leo Nestor featuring the Madeleine School Choir, Festival Chorus, Washington Symphonic Brass, organist Todd Fickley and conductor Kevin O’Brien. St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill, 313 Second St. SE.

 Sunday, Feb. 6, 5 pm: Choral Evensong with prelude recital by Bryan Holten, Christ Church Episcopal, 118 N. Washington St., Alexandria.

Sunday, Feb. 6, 7:30 pm: The choristers of the Madeleine Choir School of Salt Lake City perform at St. Peter’s Church on Capitol Hill, 313 Second St. SE. The school at the only pre-K through 8th grade Roman Catholic choir school for boys and girls in the U.S. 
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Friday, Feb. 11, 8 pm: Recitalist Kola Owolabi dedicates the new Martin Pasi & Associates organ at St. George's Episcopal Church, 915 N. Oakland St., Arlington. The program includes the premiere of Brenda Portman's "Aspects of Light." It will be livestreamed at saintgeorgeschurch.org/live.

Saturday, Feb. 12, 11 am: "Dinosaurs and Donuts," a concert and organ demonstration for children led by Minister of Music Ben Keseley. St. George’s Episcopal Church, 915 N. Oakland St., Arlington. 

Sunday, Feb. 13, 10:30 am: Festival Holy Eucharist with dedication of the new Martin Pasi & Associates organ at St. George's Episcopal Church, 915 N. Oakland St., Arlington. With trumpet, clarinet and choir.

Sunday, Feb. 13, 4 pm: Apex Brass of DC plays a recital at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land, 1400 Quincy St. NE.

Tuesday, March 1, 12:10 pm:  Washington Bach Consort performs a cantata preceded by J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in B Minor played by Benjamin LaPrairie. Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW.
 
Sunday, March 6, 5 pm: Choral Evensong with prelude recital by Samantha Scheff. Christ Church, 118 N. Washington St., Alexandria.

Sunday, March 13, 4 pm: David Houston, dean of the DC AGO chapter and director of music at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, College Park, plays a recital at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land, 1400 Quincy St. NE.

Sunday, March 13, 4 pm: Inaugural Annandale Bach Birthday Marathon: Local organists Jinsun Cho, Julie Huang Tucker, Samantha Scheff, Karl Robson and Adam Detzner will perform organ works by J. S. Bach at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 6800 Columbia Pike, Annandale. A festive reception with German food and drink will follow at 6 pm, COVID permitting. Come when you can, leave when you must! Donations will be accepted to support the Muldoon Memorial Concert Series at St. Alban’s. For more information, visit the concert series website at Muldoon Concert Series – St. Alban's Episcopal Church (wearestalbans.org).

Sunday, March 20, 4 pm: Organist Stephen Ackert performs selections from The Well-tempered Clavier of J. S. Bach at Georgetown Lutheran Church, 1556 Wisconsin Ave. NW. This is the first in a series of recitals marking the 300th anniversary of the WTC.
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Tuesday, March 22, 12:10 pm:  Organist Jinsun Cho, director of music at the Church of the Epiphany, plays a “Lenten Meditation” program at the church, 1317 G St. NW.

Tuesday, March 29, 12:10 pm:  Organist Joseph Ripka, canon musician designate at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Oklahoma City and winner of the Dublin International Organ Competition, plays music by Vierne, Bach and Liszt. Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW.
 
Sunday, April 3, 4 pm: Dr. Caroline Robinson will present a full-length organ recital at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 6800 Columbia Pike, Annandale. She is the associate choirmaster and organist at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta and won second prize in the 2018 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. Donations will be accepted to support the Muldoon Memorial Concert Series at St. Alban’s. For more information, visit the concert series website at Muldoon Concert Series – St. Alban's Episcopal Church (wearestalbans.org). 
 
Sunday, April 3, 5 pm: Choral Evensong with prelude recital by Janet Yieh at Christ Church Episcopal, 118 N. Washington St., Alexandria.

Tuesday, April 5, 12:10 pm:  Washington Bach Consort performs a cantata preceded by J.S. Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in C Minor and Chorale Prelude on An wasserflüßen Babylon played by Marvin Mills. Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW.

​Sunday, April 10, 4 pm: Iris Lan of Washington, DC, plays a recital at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land, 1400 Quincy St. NE.

Tuesday, April 26, 12:10 pm:   Steinway artist Sandro Russo will present a piano and organ double-bill program of The Four Scherzi by Chopin and Fantaisie et Fugue sur le nom de BACH by Liszt. Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW.

Sunday, May 1, 5 pm: Hymn Festival with Michael Smith and Patrick Scott at Christ Church, 118 N. Washington St., Alexandria.

Tuesday, May 3, 12:10 pm:   Washington Bach Consort performs a cantata preceded by Nicolaus Bruhns’ Praeludium in G Major played by John Walthausen. Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW.

Sunday, May 8, 5 pm: Chuyoung Suter, organist at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Gaithersburg, plays a recital at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land, 1400 Quincy St. NE.

Tuesday, May 24, 12:10 pm:  Organist Jeff Kempskie, director of music at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill, performs organ works by Bach, Mendelssohn, Howells and Persichetti. Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW.
  
Tuesday, June 14, 12:10 pm:  Celebrating Juneteenth with organist Paul Byssainthe Jr., director of music at Sligo Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Takoma Park. Church of the Epiphany, 1317 G St. NW.